Explosion at Skibbereen vet practice after lightning strike

A LIGHTNING strike caused an explosion at a busy veterinary practice in Skibbereen on Wednesday morning.

At about 10.30am lightning struck a tree and caused an outdoor broadband box to go on fire.

A person working in the premises at the time described the explosion as both ‘violent and unusual – one in a million.’

‘The walls were shaking,’ she said, ‘and the windows were shaking. 

‘There was the smell of burning and the alarms were going off.’

‘I couldn’t hear for about an hour afterwards with the power of the bang,’ she added.

The lightning scarred the tree and then tracked across the ground, resulting in a man, who was working outdoors, sustaining a transient shock.

The ambulance service was called and the crew provided the man with medical assistance. 

It is understood that the shock was not a direct hit, which caused another person on site to say, ‘It was very fortunate that no one was killed.’

The fire brigade was called and by early afternoon ESB Networks was on site to restore power.

It is understood that the lightning came in on the telephone lines, resulting in the scorching of a number of junction boxes.

Meanwhile, Cork County Council confirmed that the Council yard in Skibbereen was hit by lightning as well, and it resulted in several sockets being scorched by the force of the strike.

CH Marine at Marsh Road was not hit, but it was without power in the aftermath of Wednesday’s thunder and lightning, which was quite shocking in its intensity.